Home
by pocketcucco
Summary: For Byleth, home is wherever Edelgard is. F!Byleth/Edelgard, Black Eagles route spoilers.


As mentioned in the summary, this story does contain spoilers for the Black Eagles route and the end of the game!

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**_Home_**

Midnight had nearly come and gone when the distant torchlights of Enbarr finally appeared on the horizon. It was still a bit strange for Byleth to think of it as her home, but the smile that lit her face when she saw the imperial palace was warm and wide.

_Home, _she thought again, spurring her horse to a gallop. _And El._

Her newly-beating heart fluttered in her chest. She'd spent the last five months back at Garreg Mach, and now she wanted nothing more than to see her wife.

"Why should we reopen the Officers Academy?" Edelgard had asked when Byleth made the suggestion. "We already have public schools opening across Fódlan, and Ferdinand will be heading that operation."

"It can operate as it always did, but without the church. We can make it so it's no longer exclusive to the families who have the money to send their children. _Anyone_ can go who wants to train."

Edelgard considered this. "Who will teach?"

"I doubt finding new professors will be difficult. Hanneman and Manuela might even want to come back."

"Will you go?"

Edelgard's expression was perfectly neutral - that hadn't changed throughout the years - but Byleth heard the cautious, almost pleading note in her lover's tone. Please stay with me, it said. Please don't leave me again.

"Just for a while. But I have no intention of staying." She reached for Edelgard's hand and ran her thumb over the wedding ring on her finger. "My place is here at your side."

They were alone, and Edelgard didn't bother to hide the relief on her face. "Very well. Please write me when you can to keep me updated on your progress. Maybe I can send someone with you to help?"

"No, let's not bother them. I can do this on my own."

Byleth had no intention of staying longer than a few months, maybe one or two, to help restart the Officers Academy and train the new professors; but the task at hand was far more tedious than she imagined, especially without most of the monastery's original members around to help. Five months passed in the blink of an eye before she felt that the academy could run smoothly without her presence. The first wave of students would be arriving in a few weeks' time, and she might return then, but for now…

Her emperor was waiting for her.

Byleth all but ran down the palace halls to the secluded quarters she shared with Edelgard. It was quiet and dark when she nudged the door open - or nearly so. Candlelight flickered erratically from the room they used as a private office and library. Was Edelgard still hard at work, even at this hour? It wouldn't be unusual; especially without Byleth to chastise her for working herself half to death. Byleth sighed quietly and stepped into the office, an admonition on her lips-

Edelgard was fast asleep at her desk.

Byleth grinned. This was far from the first time she had caught her lover like this, but it still amused her to no end to see the normally composed emperor facedown in her paperwork.

"What am I going to do with you? Should I carry you to bed?" Byleth asked. Edelgard didn't stir.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Byleth carefully slipped one hand behind Edelgard's back and the other under her legs. Her wife was slight, making it easy for Byleth to carry her bridal-style as she had the day of their wedding.

Edelgard suddenly twitched and snorted as she was lifted into the air. Byleth couldn't help herself - she laughed.

"Wh... Who... Oh!" Edelgard squirmed for a moment before she saw who was holding her. "You startled me. I thought you might be-"

"An intruder?"

"Yes! Hubert would never carry me like this. I might have skewered you by accident if I could reach my dagger."

"How about a kiss instead?"

Edelgard pressed her lips to Byleth's cheek. "I'm happy to see you. Did you just get back?"

"Yes."

"You must have rode all night."

"I wanted to see you."

Edelgard said nothing, only smiled and pressed herself to her wife's chest. Byleth carried her to their room and deposited her neatly on the edge of their bed.

"I apologize. I didn't want to disturb you. You looked..." Byleth struggled for a moment to find a word other than _cute_, which Edelgard would surely balk at.

"...You looked peaceful."

Edelgard made an impatient sound. "Hubert caught me a few days ago too. 'You must get your rest, Your Majesty. Think of what Byleth would say to me if she knew!'" she said, perfectly mimicking Hubert's baritone. "You know how I lose track of time when I work."

"Yes, but..."

"I'm sure you had your own sleepless nights while you were at the academy."

She did, and Byleth was loath to admit it. "We are discussing _you_ right now, my love."

Edelgard laughed - a bright, wonderful sound that Byleth hadn't realized how badly she missed until she heard it again.

"How did everything go? It sounded well from your letters."

"Well enough. The new professors are ready as they will ever be, and the first class should be on their way. Dorothea actually expressed some interest in coming back for a term or two to teach."

"Really? I thought she was busy with the opera."

"So did I. She came by with Petra for a visit."

Edelgard's grin turned sly. "I_ have_ heard rumors about those two. How did they look?"

"Very happy."

"Good. They deserve it. They really do make a wonderful pair."

Byleth nodded thoughtfully. She was happy for Petra and Dorothea, and all of the other couples that had come from the ashes of the war.

Most of all, she found that she was happiest for herself and Edelgard.

"I missed you," Byleth said, her voice quiet with the rush of emotion she was still trying to figure out since the crest stone had left her heart.

"I missed you too. I know I should be used to being alone, but... I never realized how much I've come to depend on you."

"Hubert's company just doesn't compare to mine, does it?" Byleth asked, a playful - but very suggestive - smile on her face.

Edelgard gave another very unladylike snort. "Please! I'm much too tired to laugh this hard. Or even...you know."

"So am I. Let's go to sleep?"

The emperor's smile was radiant. She slipped her arms around Byleth's middle and pulled her onto the mattress beside her.

"Please. I missed holding you. I'm going to sleep much better tonight than I have in _months_."


End file.
